Nail driver



July 9, 1957 s R wELTY 2,798,220

NAIL DRIVER Filed D80. 27, 1955 HTTORNEY-S United States Patent Ofiice 2,798,220 Patented July 9, 1957 NAIL DRIVER Stanley R. Welty, Kirkwood, Mo. Application December 27, 1955, Serial No. 555,568 Claims. (Cl. 1-47) The present invention relates to a nail driver. More particularly, it relates to a tool that can be used by a carpenter for the purpose of driving nails such as those that secure wall paneling into place. With wall paneling of that kind, it is necessary to avoid setting the nails too deeply and also to avoid hammer marks upon the panelmg.

The present invention is designed to be used for nailing such wall paneling into place without setting the nails too deeply and without leaving hammer marks upon the paneling. It further has the advantage that it can be used with painted or otherwise colored nails, so that the nails can be made as inconspicuous as possible.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a tool of the foregoing type which can be used easily. In particular, it is an object to provide a tool that can be loaded with no difliculty and aimed with no difiiculty, so that the carpenter can learn to use it quickly. Of course, the tool has to be inexpensive and it is contemplated that one :of the tools may be given away, or at least very inexpensively supplied, with a certain number of nails or certain amount of paneling.

Other objects will appear from the description which follows:

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the tool;

Figure 2 is a somewhat enlarged top view of the tool, showing a nail in place preliminary to its being driven;

Figure 3 is a longitudinal section on the line 3-3 of Figure 2 with the nail partly driven;

Figure 4 is a view from the left end of Figure 2, with the nail omitted; and

Figures 5, 6, 7 and 8 are transverse sections on the lines 5-5, 6-6, 7-7 and 88 of Figure 2, respectively.

The tool comprises two primary relatively movable parts. First, the barrel part 10 is preferably more or less cylindrical in shape, and is provided with a passage to receive the pin or driving element generally designated 11. The dotted line in Figure 1 indicates that the driving element 11 can be withdrawn from the barrel element 10.

The barrel 10 has a passage 13 through it from the left end 14 to the right end 141. The two ends have flat surfaces. This passage 13 is not through the center of the tool, but passes through it adjacent the lateral surface thereof. A first flat portion 15 is milled or otherwise formed on the side of the barrel element 10 so as to intersect the bore 13, leaving a narrow slot 16 the length of the fiat portion 15. To the right of the flat portion 15, in Figure 2, there is a deeper fiat portion 17 which diametrically intersects the opening 13, so as to provide a wider slot 18 throughout the length of the flat part 17. As will appear, the narrower slot is designed to pass the shank, but not the head of the nail to be driven, while the slot 18 will admit the head.

To the left of the flat portion 15 and to the right of the flat portion 17, the barrel element 10 is cylindrical. However, to the right in Figures 2 and 3, there is a groove 20 containing a friction device 21 which may be provided to restrain movement of the pin or driving element 11, and to prevent inadvertent loss of the driving element 11 from the barrel 10. As illustrated in Figures 2, 3 and 7, the groove 20 receives a friction ring 21, which is illustrated as a split ring that can engage the top of the driving element and prevent escape thereof.

The left end of theibarr'el 10 is illustrated asv closing the end of the slot '16." However, the the top of the left end of the narrow end that it is quite easy to aim the device for nailing the nail at the proper point.

The pin, or driving element generally indicated at 11, cludes a shaft 25 and a handle portion 26, which latter portion constitutes the impact receiving head. The shaft 25 is of a size substantially equal to that of the bore 13 so that it slides comfortably therein without excessive lost motion. The friction ring 21 acts against the shaft 25.

In use, the barrel 10 is held with the slot upwardly. The head 26 is seized between the thumb and forefinger and the pin 10 is withdrawn to the dashed line position of Figure 1, which is the full line position of Figure 2. A nail N is then dropped into the passage 13. The wider slot 18 permits the head of the nail to drop into the bore 13, while the slot 16 receives the shaft of the nail. Thereupon, the pin or driving element 11 is pushed inwardly to move the nail into posit-ion to penetrate the paneling.

The fiat surface 14 of the barrel 10 is placed against the paneling with the opening of the bore 15 encircling the point at which the nail is to penetrate the paneling. Usually, the user can easily locate the tool against the panel for accurate driving of the nails. If a very close and accurate nailing is required, the user can partly push the nail through the barrel 10 to project the point as illustrated in Figure 3. He then places the point of the nail in exactly the place he wishes it to be driven, after which he may move the barrel 10 against the surface of the panel while yield'ably holding the pin or driving element 11 until flat engagement of the surface 14 against the paneling is obtained.

The surface 14 is of considerable extent, the tool being preferably about five-eighths of an inch across. It thereby gives stability to the tool during use, and minimizes indentations of the paneling when hammer blows strike it.

With the tool thus held, a hammer may be used against the head 26 of the pin or driving element 11, and the nail driven into place. The shaft 25 is held securely by the sliding fit that it has in the bore. This minimizes wobbling of the nail and causes the nail to go in straight. As the nail is driven fully into the paneling, the pin or driving element 11 will move into the bore 13. When fully driven, the head 26 of the pin or driving element 11 may engage the right end 141 of the barrel 10. It is frequently desirable to have the head 26 engage the right end of the barrel when the other end of the pin or driving element 11 reaches the surface 14, so that when the pin or driving element is fully driven the head of the nail will be precisely flush with the paneling.

What is claimed is:

1. A nailing tool comprising a barrel having a bore therethrough, and an end surface transverse to the bore, through which the bore penetrates, the bore being lengthwise of the barrel; the bore having a predetermined size so as to pass a headed nail of predetermined size; a lateral surface on the barrel intersecting the bore, the surface terminating short of the ends of the bore, and the intersection with the bore providing a slot to receive the shank of the nail, but not the head, so that a nail in the bore will not be deflected out of the bore, another lateral surface intersecting the bore adjacent the first surface, and providing an intersection large enough to receive the head slot is so close to of the nail; and a driving element slidable in the bore to engage the nail and transmit hammer blows to the nail.

2. The tool of claim 1, wherein the first-named slot extends close to the end surface to aid in aiming the tool 3 The tool of claim 1, wherein the driving element has means on one end engageable with the barrel to limit its penetration of the barrel, and a length to cause it to be flush with the end surface when so limited.

4. The toolof claim 1, wherein thereis means on the barrel and driving element providingengagement between them to restrict movement of the driving element and prevent its coming out of the barrel inadvertently.

5. The tool of claim 1, wherein the driving element has means to engage the barrel when the nail is fully driven and wherein the end surface of the barrel is flat and of substantial area, so as to engage against the surface being nailed, and to distribute any hammer blows applied to the driving element .and transmitted to the barrel when the barrel-engaging means of the driving element engages the barrel, over the area of the flat end surface.

No references cited. 

